Young Love
by anthropomorphychan
Summary: A mission gone wrong. An experimental pill swallowed. Change was in the air - but how the heck is Neji going to survive these next few days when his bestfriend, comrade and support system had changed into something he has had no experience in dealing with
1. One:  Disaster

**Finally, a multi-chapter fic! I haven't written one of these in ages! As much as I have enjoyed Shika/Ten, I have to say that I've missed writing for my first love – the old Neji/Ten pairings. Fingers crossed I haven't gotten too rusty. Hope you enjoy it. :P**

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><p><strong>Title: <strong>Young Love

**Genre: **Humour/Romance

**Summary: **A mission gone wrong. An experimental pill swallowed. Change was in the air … but how the heck is Neji going to survive these next few days when his best friend, comrade and support system had changed into something he has had no experience in dealing with. NxT

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><p><strong>Young Love<strong>

_Anthropomorphichybrid_

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_**Chapter One – Disaster**_

Since the incident in his youth with a particularly vicious spider-like enemy, yes, the one that involved in him almost dying by being mercilessly turned into a skewered piece of meat, (though granted, the stick to meat ratio was terribly uneven, having more sticks than actual meat … but I digress), only a few things in life truly scared Neji Hyuga. Some of his fears would be considered quite irrational by any self-respecting civilian or shinobi, should they ever have the misfortune of coming across any of those truths, due to the calibre of his skills as a young prodigious shinobi whom at the young age of 18, has already become a well accomplished jonin of close to 2 years. Though I cannot, for the risk of being Jyukened to oblivion, explicitly reveal those fears, I can give you three words: hairties, hair and Hanabi. But then again, for those of you who have managed to put two and two together and miraculously got a 7, I'm sure you could understand how losing a hair tie has a far more horrific consequence to those of the Hyuga clan (especially in the creative hands of one such as the young Hanabi), whose characteristics come close to being described by the word that that sounds a lot like pain but starts with 'v' (and no, you didn't hear it from me) than any other ordinary human being. But I digress once again. Beyond these superficial fears lie the one true fear that even Neji himself fears to acknowledge in the first place. And that fear, is the fear of losing his one and only sane teammate – Tenten.

Now you might ask me, the oh-so-powerful-narrator of this one-of-a-kind tale that will take us into a journey of self-discovery across the bountiful land of Konoha, just what the heck the relevance of all this jazz about fears is? Well, I could tell you straight up, or you can read on and follow Neji. (I suggest following Neji, _/winks/.)_

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Neji Hyuga walked at a pace that most of us unfit civilians would consider a damn fast jog. His face was impassive as usual, and would've been completely clear of any emotion except for the fact that his usually pale, lavender orbs were now darkened to a shade closer to mauve. His lips were pinched into a perfectly horizontal line and his eyebrows creased in a way that made his face all the more stern and unapproachable. All in all, though civilians may not have the same keen perception as those people trained in the ways of the shinobi, one can still gather that Neji Hyuga was in a bad mood. As he reached his destination, just an inch or two out of being able to touch the Hokage's door, he slowed down, taking a deep breath to steel his nerves for the potential bad news.

'_No,' he thought to himself, 'I have to think positive. I have to have faith in her. But damn the one mission I couldn't go with her …'_

His mind trailed off but he shook his head knowing that it was futile to worry about what had already passed. It was now time for the present. And this present involves two green beasts who will feel his wrath if things were as bad as he feared. He knocked once and heard the Hokage's affirmative for him to come in. Placing one steady hand on the brass knob, he turned his wrist, before slowly pushing the door open.

One sweep of his all-seeing eyes at the overly-exaggerated tears of sadness literally pouring out of the two green beasts of Konoha told him that things were going to be fine and he inwardly sighed in relief before presenting himself to the Tsunade herself. Bowing briefly, he spoke, albeit a little tersely.

"You called Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade eyed him with narrow brown eyes, considering whether to chastise him for his tone of address, but decided against it almost immediately knowing that it was the Hyuga's way of showing that he was indeed concerned.

"Normally, I would have just let your teammate and sensei explain to you what had occurred, but due to … circumstances," at which she eyed the two bawling men at the floor with distaste, "I felt that it is my responsibility that the unembellished truth gets to you."

Neji remained unmoving, but his rigid posture spoke volumes about his need to know what had happened.

"I'm assuming that you know that I had sent your former team on a simple B-ranked mission less than a week ago. Their task was simple and that was to intercept a caravan of what we believed were rogue med-nins from Konoha who were about to sell some of our medicinal discoveries to some … unsatisfactory people in Kumogakure. According to our informants, the rogue med-nins were coming from Earth Coutry, traversing the land and crossing through the Land of Sound before reaching the Land of Lightning. The plan was for the team to intercept them before they reached the Sound, knock the group unconscious and take them to our border where we would have a group of shinobi ready to take them back for interrogation. Unfortunately, we did not have a clear idea of the number of rogue-shinobi that were involved and thus did not realise that the two groups had split into two. Though the first group was easily neutralised, they had but little time to prepare themselves for the second lot. Clearly out-classed in terms of non-medical shinobi skills, the second group had opted for brains over brawn and managed to nearly incapacitate your former team. Fortunately, Tenten had enough brains for the team to counterattack the opposing rogues' plans – but as to the exact nature of the counter attack, I do not know, as I have not been able to decipher all of _their _incessant mumblings." At this, she glared briefly at the now whimpering men, who were whispering words that sound something along the lines of 'unyouthful', 'our fault' and 'beautiful flower of Konoha' in a jumbled order.

She continued, "However, from what the shinobis in our border were able to see, it involved a very complicated chakra net, some form of fast acting poison and many, many weapons. "

At the mention of weapons, the Hyuga could not help but let out a small smirk.

"Out of the sixteen, we were able to imprison fourteen as one had died – the leader of the counterattack we had presumed and now confirmed, and another who had escaped. Fortunately, all the materials stolen were brought back in one piece. The only thing the rogue could have taken with them is the knowledge that they already have in their mind and so we can only hope that that rogue is not too important. "

Neji frowned before speaking, "I apologise for interrupting Tsunade-sama but how is all this that relevant to me? To be frank with you, I would just like to know how Tenten fares. I can see from my former teammate and sensei's reactions that she is indeed alive and not too badly harmed, am I wrong to have assumed so?"

"Patience Hyuga. There is a reason for my explanation, and it is one that will help you determine whether she indeed is alright."

He frowned once more, not liking the sound of it, but held his tongue nevertheless.

"Now at the time the back up came up to rendezvous with the team as they had not come back at the appointed time, everything seemed alright – that is, until they reached the border and Tenten – changed."

Neji stilled.

"Somehow, during the confrontation, Tenten had managed to swallow an important piece of our scientific experiment."

At this, Neji visibly stiffened, his face slowly paling at the thought of Tenten becoming an accidental guinea pig. He was about to say something when Tsunade held up a hand.

"Relax Neji, it wasn't something … _bad _per se."

"But not _good _either?" he finally spoke, his voice controlled though a little shaky.

"Well, … yes." Tsunade finally admitted.

"What happened to her?" he demanded.

"I'm getting there Hyuga, don't get your boxers in knot," Tsunade snapped. "You see, what happened was that she managed to swallow a transformation pill."

Neji's eyes narrowed, "What sort of transformation pill?"

"It's a one-of-a kind transformation pill, one that our scientists and med-nins have been working on for the last two years. It's the perfect pill for undercover missions as the transformation is a physical one and not just a mere henge, therefore, it uses no chakra and can be held for as long as it needs to be. If calibrated correctly, one can change into any stage of their life whether they have been through it or not, whilst retaining their mental and physical capabilities. And so for missions, we could send in our shinobi in the form of seemingly harmless children or aged civilians. We were in the process of perfecting the calibrations and planning to move on into changing physical features as well when some of our own turned rogue at the chance of earning millions, even billions. Unfortunately, we haven't had the pill tested yet and we do not know how well it works. We had but one prototype – and that was the one that Tenten had accidentally swallowed."

The Hyuga was silent for some time and his silence had a huge effect on the bawling, spandex wearing men.

"N-neji?" Lee finally spoke, braving the inevitable, "I-I am truly sorry for not being able to protect our flower, but please Neji, say something."

Neji turned his head to look at Lee. He wanted to hit him and hurt him for not being able to protect Tenten but he knew he was also at fault for not being there himself and so he forced himself to look away and stare directly at the Hokage.

Slowly, his lips moved, "May I please see her?"

Tsunade nodded her head.

"She has just recently woken up and so we do not know how much she has been affected by the pill. She has been constantly changing these last 6 hours at a rate that seemed to have no pattern whatsoever, though I have been informed that no changes have occurred in the last 2 hours. I can only hope that she changes no more."

Neji clenched his fists as Lee bit off a choked cry. Gai remained whimpering still.

"You three, follow me."

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The hallways of the hospital seemed longer and more foreboding that what Neji last remembers. But he held off his fears.

'_This is no time to let your imagination run lose Hyuga. You'll see her. You'll see her soon.'_

After a few twists and turns, Tsunade finally stopped in front of a non-descript white door. Laughter could be heard through the doorway, albeit faintly, but it gave Neji much hope. Tsunade paused and turned to look at them.

"I want you to be calm and composed when we come in. I don't want any _loud _and _exuberant _noises especially from you two," she gave Gai and Lee a pointed glare, to which they sobered up immediately. "Whatever she remembers, or doesn't, make sure that she is not overflowed with information. And make sure that you tell her only truths as when we finally change her back she may only remember memories created in this new life. Are you three ready?"

They nodded in unison.

"Good."

Facing the door once more, Tsunade held the door handle and pushed it open. Light poured out from the room but the inhabitants were still hidden by an almost opaque white curtain. Tsunade walked up to the curtain and held the edge with one hand.

Speaking slowly and gently, she said, "Tenten? You have some visitors."

A pale hand grabbed onto the same edge as the one Tsunade was holding onto and slowly pulled the curtain across. Pink hair and green eyes revealed itself to be attached to the aforementioned appendage. Smiling, Sakura stepped aside to reveal the patient on the bed.

Neji froze unable to think and his jaw dropped in shock as he saw what happened to his best friend.

"T-Tenten?"


	2. Two: Welcome to LalaLand

**Thank you so much for the reviews, alerts and faves! I'm glad that you guys found my work interesting enough to look into. :P**

**To **Toph43, **thanks for the review. I generally reply to all my reviews but unfortunately your setup doesn't allow PMs and so I couldn't personally reply to you. I don't want you to think you've been snubbed so I figured I should let you know that your review was greatly appreciated. :D**

**Now onto the rest of their story! :D **

**WARNING: This is NOT a serious story and WILL contain humorous situations verging on crack. Characters WILL be OOC for the purposes of exploiting humourous situations. I hope you still enjoy it. :D**

**WARNING 2: I have changed it from a K+ to a T as I'm not too sure whether what I plan to do in the next chapters will be considered appropriate for 9 year-olds (according to the guidelines, K+ is for 9 and above). Minor expletives will most likely be used by a certain Hyuga later on in the chapters due the the situations I have planned on putting him in ...** _/evil grin/**.**_** Enjoy!  
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><p><strong>Title: <strong>Young Love

**Genre: **Humour/Romance

**Summary: **A mission gone wrong. An experimental pill swallowed. Change was in the air … but how the heck is Neji going to survive these next few days when his best friend, comrade and support system had changed into something he has had no experience in dealing with. NxT

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto … but for the life of me, I forgot to add this in the previous chapter. Oh well, the cat's out of the bag … or shall I say, the fox's out of the bag? :P

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><p><strong>Young Love<strong>

_Anthropomorphichybrid_

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_**Chapter Two – Welcome to Lala-Land**_

Neji Hyuga is the sort of man who prefers to have full control of his emotions, as opposed to just letting them run rampant like how some of his fellow comrades, or dare I say friends, often do. Growing up within the austere walls of the Hyuga Compound, certain rules and laws regarding noise control, muscle contortion – mainly of the face, as the loose Hyuga robes are often able to hide the more aggressive and less innocent undertones conveyed through body language (no, not _that,_ you dirty minded people) and the retention of personal bubbles (a space comprising approximately 2 metres in radius from the centre of gravity of each person, covering a full 360 degree rotation of each and every axis) are heavily implemented. Any violation of the Hyuga Code of Conduct (found in the Hyuga's Universal Guide – or the dreaded H.U.G. for short) will result in serious punishment, the suitability of the penalty dependent on the degree of encroachment.

So, due to such a harsh environment while growing up, as well as his latter goal of becoming an elite shinobi, Neji was able to further advance in his mastery of emotional suppression. Very few situations, however surprising or shocking, have ever caused the great Neji Hyuga to reveal any extravagant emotional display. A slight twitching of the eyebrow, the odd smirk every now and again or the patented Hyuga glare is usually the most people get. Very few are lucky (or unlucky) enough to meet an emotionally charged Hyuga, though there have been occasions where that has happened. Such incidents will however, for now, remain undisclosed due to my need for survival, but I digress. The point of all this is basically to say that, in nutshell, Neji Hyuga is a man that embodies stoicism and cool. He doesn't do jaw dropping, eye popping or fainting on the spot.

Which is why when he finally lost his cool and did all three things one after another, a mini tsunami suddenly, but fortunately briefly, passed through Suna, thus causing a very disgruntled young Kazekage. But that's a story for another day. Now back to Neji.

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"T-Tenten?" Neji croaked out, his eyes, wide and almost jumping out of their sockets.

"TENTEN!" Gai and Lee exclaimed joyfully before tears of happiness gushed out of the pair.

Neji blinked. Then stared. Then blinked again, before promptly having his eyes roll back on their own accord, lose consciousness and fall flat on his back, letting gravity work its magic.

"Neji!" Lee shouted, before quickly diving under his comrade's falling frame to try and break his fall. Arms outstretched, he hooked his arms onto the falling man's armpits, catching him just before his head touched the linoleum floor.

Sakura stared at the fallen shinobi in utter shock whilst Tsuande did a facepalm.

'Of all the rotten luck, the one decent person she had on the team just had to faint today of all days. Kami help me!' Tsunade mumbled to herself. Shaking herself out of her disgruntled stupor, she straightened up immediately and barked out some orders.

"Oi, Lee, get Neji on the other bed. Sakura, go over there and make sure he's fine."

The two immediately rushed off to do as asked.

At the back and almost forgotten, a young female reached out to grab the edge of Tsunade's top, giving it a gentle yank to get her attention.

Tsunade turned and looked at the person who tugged at her outfit.

Wide innocent brown eyes gazed back at her, her small head cocked to one side and dark brown pigtails spilling over the front of her loose green shirt. Squinting her eyes briefly as if to try and sort out her thoughts, she finally spoke.

"Onee-chan, is the other onee-chan going to be alright?"

Tsunade perked up at the unintended compliment and stifled a snort at the _other _statement. She gave a weak smile back to the child but didn't give a response.

'_Oh Kami, why now of all days did I have to run out of sake?'_

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_Neji opened his eyes slowly only to see a world so … different from is own. The sky was cotton candy pink, the clouds a pale hazelnut colour. The 'hills' were purple like boiled yam and rolled beyond the carrot orange horizon. He shook his head while sitting up slowly, trying to remember the last thing that happened before he lost consciousness. He reached up to touch his head only to feel a soft fabric atop, encasing the whole of his head. He looked up and saw the brim of the hat he was wearing, but it wasn't a wide brim hat as he had first suspected, but a white, lace bonnet, with a thick ribbon that was knotted tightly in a large bow right under his chin. His eyes widened and he yanked at the ridiculous headgear._

"_Ow!" he yelped, not realising that the bonnet was well glued to his head. _

_He frowned, his brow creasing. _

'_Nevermind, I have to get back to Konoha!' he thought to himself, quite determined. He was about to stand up when he tripped over a large expanse of frilly white material._

'_What the hell?" he frowned some more, glaring down at the lump of material that caused his graceless stumble. His face paled at the realisation that the material he tripped on happened to be the skirting part of a dress … a dress, which he is actually wearing. _

'_Eh? Is this some sort of genjutsu?' he scratched his head rather uncharacteristically and thought to himself, 'If this is the Uchiha brat's idea of a joke then he's going to die.'_

_He tried releasing himself out of it but to no avail. He cursed to himself before trying the idea of 'standing up' once again._

_Careful of his lengthy outfit this time round, Neji got up slowly, bunching up his skirts so he can walk with a bit more ease._

'_I know! I'll just rip the damned edge off!' he smirked at his genius and quickly lifted his skirts to check what sort of materials he was dealing with. The skirt was unusually thick, having four or five layers of varying thicknesses and type. Reaching the very last layer, Neji shuddered at the realisation that he was wearing massive granny bloomers._

'_Actually, on second thoughts, I think I might just keep the skirt as it is. But, is my pride really that more important than the safety of my being?' He mused to himself._

_He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realise that someone had slowly crept up behind him. _

"_Hello ... Clarice …" the man behind him whispered seductively, his sibilant s's dragging on ominously as he gently nipped at Neji's bare neck. _

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"TENTEN-CHAN! That is most inappropriate!" The younger of the two spandex wearing men's voice rose to a high squeak, his face transitioning from its otherwise tanned colour to a fine dark crimson.

The said girl looked up at him solemnly and replied innocently. "But I dropped a piece of chocolate sauce on onee-chan's neck from my ice cream. I wouldn't want to get her pretty hair so icky."

"B-but Tenten-chan, you must not lick people's necks! E-especially when they are unconscious. T-that would be invading their privacy! How would you feel if I licked your neck because I dropped chocolate sauce on you?"

Tenten bit lip, as her eyebrows knotted in deep thought.

"I think …" she began, "I think …"

"Yes?"

"I think … I think I would feel … very ticklish. Like a dog licking me," she beamed at Lee, and then added as an afterthought, "I like dogs Lee onii-chan."

Lee stared incredulously at the child who only stared back with her big, innocent round eyes. "B-but Tenten-chan, I am not a dog, I am human and therefore an action such as that would be … would be considered …"

"… sexual harassment," Kakashi finished for him, then added, "… and you would be called a paedophile."

"Exactly!" Lee said, nodding his head in agreement until he realised what he just agreed with, "W-wait! No! NO! I was not going to say that! K-Kakashi-sensei how could you say such a thing in front of this innocent young child? A-and since when have you been here?"

Holding his infamous bright orange book, Kakashi casually leaned against the wall by the door, "Well, to answer your first question Lee, I would say … easily. And for the latter, my response would be from the moment you let young Tenten here attempt to … _seduce_ her onee-chan_. _It's a shame you let her stop though. It was just like the scene I'm reading now, only that the couple in my book are both older and that the male was …"

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Lee exclaimed aghast.

Tenten, unaware of the situation she was in, only added to Lee's mortification by asking a simple question.

"Onii-chan," she looked at Lee, "what does se-doos mean?"

Lee's face turned even redder and he stood with his jaw down to the floor like a Christmas decoration gone wrong.

Kakashi only smiled under his mask, "Ah, well it seems like Lee doesn't know, but don't worry, your Uncle Kakashi can explain it to you."

"O-okay then," Tenten replied.

"Well you see, when a woman …" Kakashi began.

Lee's face paled at the thought of letting his young and innocent teammate hear the truth. Quickly, he interrupted Kakashi and continued his explanation for him, "… wants to help someone out, it means she's seducing them!"

Tenten's mouth made an 'O' shape and her eyes glistened in understanding.

Kakashi's smile only widened and his uncovered eye glinted mischievously, "That is indeed correct Tenten-chan. But it seems like the chocolate is dripping onto your onee-chan's hair. You don't want any more of the chocolate to reach your onee-chan's hair now do you?"

Tenten's eyes widened at the truth her newfound "uncle" was saying and she immediately resumed licking Neji's neck.

A scream from the door startled Lee and the young Tenten and both turned to see who it was that entered. One had his face turn into bleached-sheet-white while the other only looked out in confusion.

"Tenten! What in the world are you doing?" Sakura squeaked, her face slowly resembling the colour of her hair.

Tenten, the innocent child that she was, looked back with her head tilted to one side and replied calmly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I am se-doosing onee-chan of course."

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_With a strangled yell (that verged on an almost girlish-scream), Neji immediately bounced into shinobi mode and roundhouse kicked the poor sod behind him, sending the creature to hit a tree that was conveniently placed about 20 metres behind them. Neji's long luscious locks whipped around and he faced his enemy._

_The man he kicked slowly got up from the base of the tree and revealed a pale face with raptor-like eyes that stared at him like he was some piece of meat. He smiled at him creepily and his forked purple tongue licked his lips in anticipation. _

_Neji flinched and his eyes hardened._

"_I should've known it was you Orochimaru! What are you playing at?" Neji snarled._

_The man blinked once in confusion. "Eh? I am no Oro … Oro chicken rooster! I am Hanibal! Your Hanibal my Clarice!"_

_Neji's brows were knitted. 'What the hell is he on about?'_

"_You don't fool me!" Neji shouted, "I can see your genjutsu has gotten stronger but no matter, I will get out of this!"_

"_Now, now my Clarice," the Orochimaru-Hanibal man whispered while walking slowly towards Neji, "Let's not be hasty. Fighting is such a tragic, tragic thing. Come to me my dear and let me try some of your tasty, tasty …"_

"_Hakke Kuushou!" Neji shouted, interrupting the man and thus sending him back to the tree. Without a second thought he ran forward, his skirt lifted higher as to allow him to run without tripping._

"_Ah Clarice, what beautiful ankles you have!" the man crooned, clearly smitten, "Come to me my dear!"_

_And come to him Neji did, but with a very different intention, "Hakke Hyakunijuuhachishou," Neji yelled, "Two. Four. Eight. Sixteen. Thirty-two. Sixty-Four. One hundred and twenty-eight palms!"_

_With his final prod, Neji then sent the clearly crazy missing-nin flying, over and above the carroty horizon. He watched with his Byakugan activated as the figure became smaller and smaller, past a pinprick size and finally, into into nothing. _

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Sakura's mortification was far, far worse than Lee's but unlike the green-suited man, Sakura did not express her more extreme emotions through the mere action of one's face paling or blushing, no, of course not. Sakura Haruno often reacted … with violence.

With her emerald eyes darkening to that of a damp leaf on the forest floor, Kakashi soon bid his farewell and disappeared in a poof of smoke. Lee wanted nothing more than to do the same, but alas he could not and so he could only gulp as he waited in anticipation for the young Haruno's head to finally turn to his face.

"Lee-kun," she said in a saccharine voice, "will you explain to me what happened?"

Lee sweated buckets and silently offered a prayer to Kami-sama that he survives the wrath of the wonderful Cherry Blossom.

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'_Good riddance,' Neji thought, then quickly frowned at the ease at which he was able to dispose of the man. 'Nevermind, I need to find my way out of this imaginary land and get back to Konoha. But first, I must find my bearings.'_

_Using his eyes, he spotted a large tree not far from where he was and decided to that it would be his best chance at assessing his environment. Carefully bunching up his skirts, he ran towards the tree. He was about to leap into the strong sturdy branches when he saw what seemingly looked like a bowl of food resting with a spoon inside on top of a solid wooden bench. His stomach suddenly grumbled at the sight._

'_Hmm … it seems like that fight has taken more energy than I thought. I wonder if that bowl was owned by anyone?'_

"_Hello?" he called out, Byakugan still activated, "is there anyone around? Is this bowl of food anyone's?"_

_Only silence greeted him._

'_Well, it seems like whoever owned that bowl of food has already left. Though I am against eating food that was previously eaten by an unknown stranger, practicality states that I renew my energy. I will just have to apologise if I see them later on.' With that thought, Neji sat upon the wooden bench and immediately started eating._

'_Curds and whey … what an interesting choice for a meal," he mused before scooping another spoonful into his mouth. Completely lost in his bowl of nourishment, Neji once again did not realise that someone was behind him. Soon, he felt a subtle tickle of something furry touch his neck. He swatted at his neck and resumed eating. Another brush of something furry touched him just under his right chin, just a few centimetres above where he was previously touched. He swatted at the area once again. But for a third time, something furry brushed the side of his cheek._

'_Must be a bug,' he thought. 'I should always remember to apply Hinata-sama's repellent," he added before swatting at area, only this time he felt something, something furry and bigger than an ordinary bug. Slowly, he turned his head._

"_Well hello … Miss Muffet," the man-spider grinned lecherously._

_Neji's shock was evident in his face as a shudder ran through his body. He stared for about five seconds before he spoke, but to his chagrin, he stuttered, "Y-you! B-but I killed you already when I was 13!"_

_The man-spider's smile only grew larger, "Ohoho! But my dear Miss Muffet, we have just met."_

_Neji was about to leap into action when he realised that he could not move, he glanced down only to see in horror how he was caught in a finely spun web, trapping every part of him, except for his head, in place._

"_Come now dearie, shall we have some – fun?"_

_Neji's face paled and at the feel of a furry leg upon his face, he screamed._

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Neji sat up on the hospital bed, swiping at his face as he pushed his own hair, the culprit of the 'furry feeling', out of the way. His body was covered in sweat and his breath was short. A tremor ran throughout his body as he remembered his dream.

'_No, not a dream. A nightmare. That same nightmare since I was brought back from that mission five years ago.'_

He shook his head, shaking off the remnants of his fears and he focused his eyes back to his environment. He blinked at the sight in front of him.

"Sakura-san? Lee? What are you two doing?"

Sakura remained frozen in her state, her arms trapping a poor Lee in a very tight, and highly inescapable headlock. Lee's face by now had turned into a strange purple, very much like the hills in Neji's dream.

"Uh … uh …" Sakura stuttered. She was about to give a very lame and unbelievable excuse when Tenten bet her to it.

"She is se-doosing Lee-onii-chan, nee-chan."

Neji's jaw dropped for the second time that day and Sakura blushed in complete and utter humiliation.

Tenten continued, "But Sakura-nee-chan, onii-chan's turning purple. Is he supposed to turn purple?"

Sakura, with what's left of her dignity, dropped Lee gracelessly on the floor.

"Well … uh … I was just helping Lee here get his circulation back! Yes, I was doing just that and now that I've seen him turn purple, it means that his circulation is fine, isn't that right Lee?" she smiled overly sweetly at the terrified young man.

Unable to use his vocal cords just yet, Lee could only nod in reply.

"See?" Sakura said to the young Tenten, "Now, now. Since Neji-san is up, I'm going to go and find Tsunade-sama. Take care of her you two, I'll be back."

And with a cheery wave, she was gone.

Neji blinked at Sakura's fading after image. He was mildly surprised to see the med-nin move so fast. He was about to confront Lee about what actually happened when a small hand reached to grab his.

"I am so glad you're okay onee-chan!" the young girl beamed, then her smile faded as she bit her lip, "but … I'm sorry I got chocolate on your hair."

Neji only stared back in shock.

Unable to comprehend the look he was giving her, Tenten misunderstood the look to mean she was in trouble.

"I-I tried to help clean you up and I licked some of the chocolate that was on your neck before it dripped to your hair."

Neji's voice got caught in the back of his throat.

'_Tenten licked me? On my neck?'_

Neji swallowed audibly and his face turned a faint but noticeable red.

"Uncle Kakashi told me to," she added as an afterthought, thinking that it might help.

But Neji's face only got redder and he had to look away from the young five-year-old girl that was once his teammate.

Neji took three large breaths before looking back at Tenten.

She stared back, quiet.

Neji sighed before clearing his throat and then began, "First of all … I must correct you on your terminology. I am NOT an onee-chan, but an onii-chan. Are we clear?"

Tenten only stared at him, her eyes growing wider by the second. Her small mouth opened into a small 'o' before she screamed.

"AHHH! YOU'RE A HEMAPHRODITE!"


	3. Three: Masculinity

**I'm sorry this took so long. Holiday work took over my life and before I knew it, uni started again. :( Haven't really had any respite from it all ... but uni's killing me and I needed a break. :)  
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**Thank you so much for your patience. Love you all! **

**Cheers**

**Morphy-chan 3:D  
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><p><strong>Title: <strong>Young Love

**Genre: **Humour/Romance

**Summary: **A mission gone wrong. An experimental pill swallowed. Change was in the air … but how the heck is Neji going to survive these next few days when his best friend, comrade and support system had changed into something he has had no experience in dealing with. NxT

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto …

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><p><strong>Young Love<strong>

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_**Chapter Three – Masculinity**_

The Hyuga Clan has always been known for their strength, nobility, intelligence, beauty and quiet elegance. They are often admired from a far due to their cold and impenetrable exteriors, and so not many could boast a close relationship with someone from the clan, let alone one of the clan's elites. Hardly a flaw could be said about the clan, except for maybe the arrogance, and air of condescension in which most Hyugas compose themselves with – but even this is largely accepted (or at least tolerated) due to their status in the village. Oh no, not even this flaw of character could undermine the Hyuga Clan's importance.

However, there is one tiny, little detail about these great Hyugas that every non-Hyuga has questioned at least once in their life. It is a question that has been ignored by every Hyuga that has been questioned. So insulting and demeaning is this thought that they will hurt anyone who has the gall to even suggest such a thing.

So when Tenten screamed out hermaphrodite, questioning the masculinity of one of the Hyuga's elites, the room froze. Even the ticking of the clock held its breath. All the occupants in the room stood stock still, their gaze locked on the lone Hyuga's immobile form.

The young Tenten cowered in the corner of the room, her large brown eyes were glazed in unshed tears, her bottom lip quivering at the same rhythm as her shaking form. A hushed sniffle was all that could be heard from her.

"N-neji-san?" Sakura began, the first to try and break into the rather suffocating silence, "she's j-just a ch –"

A single hand silenced the rosette. Neji's face was staunch, and hard like marble. Lips were drawn into a thin line as his mauve and milky gaze searched for the young brunette. Mauve met brown.

Slowly, the young Hyuga strode towards the quivering girl.

Lee paled in the background, a suppressed cry locked at the base of his throat.

Four steps were all it took for Neji to reach the girl. Four steps, for Neji to tower over Tenten, his formidable frame draping a seemingly threatening shadow. Four steps, before the Hyuga elite dropped down to his knee to gently hold Tenten's hand.

A quiet moment passed between the two, and time was no longer of any consequence. Mauve turned to lavender. Brown became a rich caramel. Her quivering mouth curled upwards into a smile. And his clenched lips relaxed into fleeting smirk before fading back into impassivity.

Sakura released the breath she was holding while Lee began spouting out words about youth, soaking his spandex suit with a steady flow of tears.

"S-so you're really a boy?" were the first words that tumbled out of Tenten's mouth.

Lee began to choke in his tears and Sakura held back an unladylike guffaw.

But Neji took it all in stride. "Yes. Yes I am."

Tenten cocked her head to one side to look at Neji closely. She let go of his hands as she pondered over a thought.

She stared at him with large innocent eyes and in a serious voice she asked, "Can I please check onii-chan?"

"…"

Sakura blushed a thousand shades of red as she stuttered out a strained complaint.

"T-tenten! That … that's probably not such a good idea. I-I mean, Neji-san would probably want his privacy and … and h-how would you even check …" she trailed off, blushing even more as what she said last registered in her head. _'Ugh! Stupid perverted thoughts!_

Tenten looked at them confusedly, "But I just wanted to check if he had boobs? He doesn't have to take his shirt off if he's shy. I could just feel them."

A strained look passed between all three of the adults.

"Tenten-chan our dearest flower, it is most inappropriate for Neji-san to either take his clothes off or let you uh … feel him up."

Neji glared at Lee at his choice of words, but let him continue nevertheless.

"I mean, there, must be other ways that we can … satisfy your curiosity, oh dearest flower?"

Both Neji and Sakura reddened at Lee's tactless choice of words, inwardly thanking Kami that the two were far too innocent for the innuendo to be comprehended.

Tenten bit her lower lip in thought. "Well …" she began, "I can always kick him in the … you-know-what."

Lee blinked innocently. "Er … I'm not too sure I understand Tenten-chan."

The young girl rolled her eyes skyward before cupping her mouth with one hand to whisper loudly, "_The you-know-what. The jingle-jangle. The pickle-wickle."_

Lee still had a stupefied look on his face.

"_The dangly-bits – if he has one."_

Both males blanched at the thought.

"Uh – I don't think that's necessary," Sakura butted in. "Neji, I think in this case we can make an exception. You should probably just take your shirt off or let her feel you up."

Neji glared at the rosette.

"It's your _pickle-wickle," _she shrugged.

Grunting, Neji acquiesced – albeit reluctantly. Still on his knees, he let his arms drop to his side. Tenten stood up from her corner and approached the kneeling man.

_Poke. Poke._

Twitch.

_Poke._

Flinch.

Tenten muttered to herself before nodding.

"Okay. I believe you onii-chan."

Lee and Sakura sighed in obvious relief while Neji just slowly stood up, feeling rather awkward despite the respite.

"Damn. Just how much have I missed?" A curious drawl snapped their heads towards the direction of the door.

"Kakashi-sensei! Don't you think you've done enough damage for the day?!" Sakura fumed.

"But – "

"Shut up Kakashi. Listen to your student or it's D-rank missions for you." Tsunade's voice boomed beside the copy-nin's ear.

"Such a shame …" sighed the copy-nin. But the Hokage just ignored him.

"I don't really want to know what's been going. As long as that's sorted, I'd appreciate if we could move on. Capiche?"

"Yes maam." The three jounins replied in affirmation.

"Good. Now Gai should be here anytime –"

A poof of smoke materialised in the middle of the hospital room. Tendrils of grey and white floated out from the edge of the cluster, slowly dissipating to reveal a shock of green, orange and an unholy amount of shininess.

"You called Hokage-sama?" Maito Gai said, his pearly whites and polished bowl cut on extreme high beam.

The occupants of the room coughed and squinted, with Tsunade also manifesting an unconcealed twitch. _'One of these days, I am going to shave that man bald …' she thought to herself, before shaking her head to get back into business._

"Gai, Lee, Neji. I gathered you three here to discuss with you as to who will be the one to look after Tenten. As she has no other living relatives, she has stated in her contract for Team Gai to be her emergency contact in the case of anything happening to her. Are there any volunteers?"

Gai immediately took a step forward, his eyes bright with determination and scarily excessive fatherly love, "As her sensei, I will take full responsibility of my student! It was my fault that she ended up this way and so I must be the one to aid her in her return to her full, blossoming youth! I shall nurture her like the daughter I have never had, feed her, clothe her and teach her the values of life and all that is youthful!"

"Oh Gai-sensei! That is most beautiful!" Lee replied passionately, with tears gushing down his face. "I was also at fault for this and so I must share with you this task. I shall be like her elder brother! And I will teach her the wonders of the shinobi ways! I shall look after her when you are not there sensei! I shall be her knight, her shield!"

"Lee! You truly are a marvel to behold. Your spirit is oh-so youthful and I am sure that with my guidance and yours, we can raise Tenten to be a kind and caring, yet strong and fearsome kunoichi!"

"Yes sensei! We must also gift her with the mark of youthfulness! To aid her in her journey, she will need to don this same armour of green that we both wear."

"My Lee! My bright, bright boy! How did I not think of that sooner? I must immediately contact my seamstress! She will not only be the most youthful shinobi inside, but also outside!"

"That is perfect sensei!"

"I could not have not done it without you Lee."

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Sensei!"

"Lee!"

A double rainbow graced the Konohan skies whilst a multitude of butterflies peppered the remaining gaps. (Fortunately, the beauty of the spectacle was enough to cover the angry curses that came from the Aburame compound.) Fireworks began to shower the town of Konoha and flying fishes danced ballets in smooth, flowing motions to the beat of the spandex-duo's cry.

Sakura sweat dropped at the sight while Kakashi feigned ignorance from behind his orange book. An angry vein appeared in both Neji and the Hokage's temples. Unsurprisingly, only Tenten seemed to be enjoying the strange phenomenon that is called Gai and Lee.

"Tsunade-sama," Neji intoned. "I don't care what those two say, but I refuse to leave Tenten with either of them. One is bad enough, but both? I don't think Tenten deserves that kind of trauma."

"Yes, yes. I agree. " Tsunade nodded, her face in a grimace. "I want you to report any changes to Sakura. I trust that you will look after her to the best of your abilities."

"Hai."

"Very well. Now I suggest that you leave before these two realise you are gone."

With a nod, Neji picked up the awed girl and carried her quickly out of the room.

"Sakura."

"Yes Tsunade-sama?"

"I suggest we take a leaf from Neji and leave while we can. I have a case I'd like to give to you as well so if you could just follow me, we can avoid any more insanities from those two."

Sakura stifled a giggle, "Hai."

Tsunade turned to leave but stopped just before she fully passed Kakashi.

"By the way," she began, "what exactly are you doing here in the first place?"

Kakashi lifted an elegant eyebrow from the unmasked side of his face before looking at the Hokage. Placing a finger to mark his spot in the book, he flicked to a page closer to the front and turned the page towards the Hokage.

Another twitch in the temple graced Tsunade's youthful face before she shook her head and left, muttering profanities under her breath.

Curious, Sakura took a peek. She blushed, before squeaking indignantly and following after her mentor.

Kakashi sighed. _'No one appreciates good literature nowadays,' he thought to himself as took one last glance at his book, his eyes straying a little longer at a pretty young brunette girl donning a party dress and the gentleman with long ebony mane whose lap she was sitting on. _He shrugged to himself, before poofing out of site.

Lost in their embrace, Gai and Lee remained blissful ignorant, continuing to shower Konoha with their law defying wonders.


End file.
